Anyone had the same electrical problem?

[ryland7667]

I was wondering if anyone else has had anything like this. I have a 2003 Triton. After a rough day on the water, the switches on my panel and my in dash Lowrance unit are screwed up. The Lowrance will not turn on. The bilge switch does not work. (The little red light on the switch does not come on) When I turn on the ACC switch, switch for the NAV lights comes on. When I turn the ACC off, the little red light on the NAV switch stays on for a few seconds and then slowly fades out.

I'm not an electrician, all of those freakin' wires confuse me. I've checked all the fuses and they are all good. Any advise? I was hoping it is something simple, if not where should I take it for service?

Thanks in advance, you guys are always helpful.

[WON Teams]

check the wires where they come to the battery terminals. You may have something loose there.

[Ken C.]

Check all of your connections, at the console, behind the fuse panel, at the battery. Look for anything wet, loose or corroded. Pull the battery terminals and check for corrosion. Does the big motor crank right up when you are experiencing this problem? Could be "shaken battery sindrome"...

As for where to take it, Galaxie Marine is a highly respected Triton/Skeeter/BassCat Dealer and is just up the hill from you in Newcastle. There is also C&C right in your neighborhood. They are great also and might be able to help you out, but they are a Ranger dealer.

Good luck!

[ryland7667]

I checked all of the battery connections. I bought a new Trojan cranking battery at the end of May 2006. The big motor works great and starts everytime. I am really confused by the way the switches are acting up. Some don't light up at all, and the whole ACC and NAV switch problem that I mentioned earlier is really weird. I think my wires are crossed or something. I've never seen anything like that before.

By the way, what is shakin battery syndrome?

[Dan McKenzie]

You can perform a "load test" on each of your batteries. Doing so you can eliminate a BAD battery which can cause all kinds of wierd problems. I have had some electrical problems and have learned its easier to start at the power source and work forward. A bad battery can cause some of the same symptoms as you have described. Don't waste your time checking a battery with an Ohm meter, a bad battery can read perfect on an Ohm meter and not pass a load test. I bought a load tester at kragen for 50 bucks or so, some kragens will loan them at no charge, or take it to a shop that works on electrical, it's a 10 minute process and should be at most a minimal charge. I can't speak about the glass mat type of batteries, but lead batteries can and often do have problems after rough rides, especially if not properly secured (from personal experience).

[Ken C.]

Dan's right on with his info. You can "check" battery connections all you want but if there is corrosion underneath (personal experience) or you have "shaken battery syndrome" (more on that later) just checking to see if it's tight is not really going to give you the answer. Take the battery out and take it to Kragen or Autozone or PepBoys. They'll usually load test them for free. Then work your way all the way up to the problem area, checking everything on your way.

Shaken Battery is when you are pounding across the water and the internal plates/coils/whatever parts that are internal to the battery can break off or develop a crack from all the vibration and cause similar problems (I doubt that Trojan batteries are immune to it...) with output voltage or current.

[FRANK D. LOZANO]

You will most likely find that you have an intermittent open connection or voltage drop at your switches and the accessory circuit is backfeeding the nav light indicator. The wires did not get crossed.

Check the back of the bilge switch and you will probably find that the Lowrance is wired in to pick up power at that switch and that you are loosing power there or to that point causing both to quit working.

Check the connections at the switch and at the fuse block. You will find small gauge wire powering the Lowrance. The small red one is what you are looking for; it is the positive power wire. Start at the component that is inoperative, find the wire that should have power to it and trace it back to where you are loosing the power.

You will need a 12v test light.

Sorry if I may have confused you.

[Ken C.]

There you go Ryland - If you want to bring it down to Frank his guys will be able to Git-R-Done for you as well!!!

[troutnut]

I have a quick question...if you go out in the garage to the boat and turn on and off every electrical switch and device, do they all turn on and off now?

The problem you describe here:
[quote]When I turn on the ACC switch, switch for the NAV lights comes on. When I turn the ACC off, the little red light on the NAV switch stays on for a few seconds and then slowly fades out.[/quote]

tells me the ground for one of those switches either has a short (broken wire, loose connection, corrosion, or wire is not connected) and the reason the red light stays on is it is recieving power (or ground) thru another source. It makes me think to look at ground wires first. SInce you said you changed the battery in May, that is where I would start looking. I'd bet a box of Krispy Cremes the connection wire to your accessory panel has an intermitent short.

If you don't know what you are doing with electricals, take it to a shop. It won't take them long to find the problem. But all boat owners should understand electricals and how to fix problems, so they don't get stranded. Burnt wires and a boat full of gas with family/friends on board is nothing to be careless with. There is a good book you can get at West Marine or Amazon called "Understanding Boat Wiring" and it will help.

Here is the Standard Marine Wire Code Table:

Red -Constant Hot
Black- Ground
Purple- Key-on Power
Yellow/Red- Neutral Safety
Tan- Water Temperature or Overheat sensor to warning horn
Dark Blue- Gauge Lighting
Pink- Fuel Sender
Gray -Tachometer
Light Blue- Oil Pressure
Brown/White- Trim Indicator
Brown- Bilge Pump
Green/White- Trim Down
Blue/White- Trim Up
Green/Orange- Independent Tilt Down
Blue/Orange- Independent Tilt Up
Yellow/Black- Choke Circuit
Yellow/Red- Starting Circuit
Black/Yellow- Ignition Cut-off/kill switch

[ryland7667]

Thanks again for all of the info, I'll let you know the outcome.

[Ken C.]

That's some great information right there - Thanks for posting that!

[Triton 190 FS Owner]

ryland,

Did you find out what was causing your electrical problem? I've had a 190 FS since 2002 and haven't experienced the problem you mentioned.

Sounds like you purchased Tony Armes' boat. Other than the electrical problem how is the boat treating you?